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Hindu Code Bill: Criticism, Ambedkar’s Resignation & Reaction Of Women
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Modern History UPSC Notes
A series of laws known as the "Hindu code bills" was passed in the 1950s with the intention of codifying and reforming Hindu personal law in India by displacing religious law with a common law code. The Jawaharlal Nehru-led Indian National Congress government, took office after India gained independence in 1947.
In this article, we will explore the features of the Hindu Code Bill. This forms a major part of the UPSC IAS exam, and questions related to this topic are seen in Prelims, UPSC Mains Paper I, as well as in UPSC History Optional. This topic is equally important for the UGC NET History exam, as 5-6 questions are asked every year from the political history of India.
Hindu Code Bill History
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was chosen by Nehru in 1948 to serve as the chairman of the subcommittee charged with developing the Hindu Code Bill. The Hindu Code Bill aimed to codify the various property laws and procedures that apply to both men and women.
The Hindu Code Bill intended to change the succession order and create new laws for minorities, marriage, divorce, and adoption.
Ambedkar discussed topics like the elimination of the birthright to property, property by survivorship, half shares for daughters, the conversion of women's limited estate into an absolute estate, the elimination of caste in marriage and adoption, and the monogamy and divorce principles while summarising the main provisions of the Bill.
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Criticism Of the Hindu Code Bill
Congress, Hindu Mahasaba, and other Hindu religious authorities fiercely opposed the Hindu Code Bill.
- The majority of the controversy stemmed from provisions addressing the elimination of caste-based limitations on marriage, monogamy, divorce, and equal property rights for women.
- Rajendra Prasad, then-President and Chairman of the Indian Constituent Assembly said that only "highly educated ladies" supported the Bill and that his wife would never support the divorce clause.
- Ambedkar, however, believed that removing caste prohibitions on adoption and marriage did not equate to banning these actions within a caste. The Bill would support those driven by reason and consciousness to overcome caste constraints without impairing the right of orthodox communities to continue acting in accordance with their dharma.
- Here, the goal was obviously to open up the topic of kinship, or partner selection and adoption, which had hitherto been governed by caste lines.
- Ambedkar responded to Bill's detractors, who claimed his defence of polygamy was too Western, by citing the Hindu smritis and shastras, which he claimed implicitly supported polygamy.
- He was essentially arguing for the freedom to divorce clause, which was fiercely opposed because it could shatter Indian culture when he called attention to the successive Brahmnization of legislation in India.
- He questioned the imposition of minority rule on the majority because divorce was a habit or law among Shudras, who made up 90% of Indian culture.
- The opposition persisted in publicly lobbying and protesting against the Bill, claiming that it was founded on ideas and concepts that were incompatible with Hindu Law and likely to split every family apart.
- A cultural organisation for the defence of traditional Hinduism called Dharma Sangh (Association of Dharma Sangh) organised multiple protests against the Hindu Code Bil.
- The Bill's introduction was postponed despite Nehru's initial threat that his administration would fall if it were to be opposed.
- Ambedkar finally persuaded the Bill to be introduced on September 17, 1951, but only after it had first been divided into four parts to lessen opposition.
- Ambedkar resigned, nevertheless, after the legislation was once more defeated in the legislature. In a letter that he made public, he said that the treatment given to the Hindu Code Bill and the administration's failure to enact it were major factors in his decision.
- India held its first national elections in 1951–1952. The Hindu Code Bill was one of Nehru's major campaign priorities, and he promised to carry it through Parliament if the Indian National Congress won. Nehru was restored to his position as prime minister after Congress's resounding victories, and he started an extensive effort to draught a bill that could pass.
- The Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act are the four different bills that Nehru divided the Code Bill into. Between the years of 1952 and 1956, each of these was successfully brought in and enacted by Parliament because they faced much less resistance.
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Hindu Code Bill And Ambedkar
On April 1, 1947, the Hindu Code Bill was introduced in the Constituent Assembly and, after a full year, was referred to a Select Committee. Ambedkar made a move on August 31, 1948, to study the Select Committee's findings.
The House ultimately adopted Ambedkar's motion that the Bill, as reported by the Select Committee, was to be taken into consideration on December 19, 1949, after some, albeit intermittent, discussion that started in February 1948. In 1950, there was no time allocated for discussion of the Bill. After that, the Bill was discussed in the Parliament for three days in February 1951 and was examined clause by clause.
Ambedkar asked Nehru to start debating the Hindu Code right away and to at least implement the sections pertaining to marriage, divorce, and monogamy. It soon became apparent that the Congress party did not want any portion of the proposal to be adopted prior to the general election.
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Hindu Code Bill & Woman
Throughout this time, Ambedkar made several lectures in which he emphasised the significance of the Bill for the independence of women. It is obvious that the subject of equal rights for women in the private sphere was gaining traction within the Ambedkarite women's organisations.
The All India Depressed Classes Women's Conference passed a number of significant resolutions, including ones opposing polygamy and enacting divorce legislation. Unfortunately, important women leaders were not interested in supporting the Bill and, as a result, in social progress, Ambedkar said inconsolably at a gathering in Kolhapur in 1952.
The Hindu Code Bill made mixed marriages possible and ended upper-caste male power over polygamy, divorce, inheritance, and guardianship. The Bill made a commitment to offering all women more room to bargain, conduct business, challenge, and reshape Brahminical patriarchal standards. Men who were lower in the caste hierarchy had the potential to challenge the gendered caste boundaries while also challenging the privileged caste men's practice of polygamy.
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Conclusion
In this context, Dr Ambedkar's resignation, which he did in protest at the suspension of the democratic social contract, marked a turning point in India's history of women's rights. In the history of democratic fights for women's rights against the social and patriarchal hierarchy of the state, Dr Ambedkar's arguments in favour of the Hindu Code Bill and his justification for his resignation from the cabinet must be given their due credit.
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Hindu Code Bill FAQs
What are the Hindu Code Bill and polygamy?
In addition to including rules addressing intercaste weddings and divorce procedures, the Hindu Marriage Bill prohibited polygamy.
What is the 2005 Hindu Code Bill?
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005 was passed to repeal the Hindu Succession Act, 1956's gender-discriminatory clauses.
Are the Hindu Code Bill and the Unified Civil Code are equivalent?
UCC was to replace currently applicable laws which included Hindu Code Bill too.
Is a uniform civil code required in India?
The status of women in India will be improved by a standard civil code and Hoa is the only state to have UCC.
The Hindu Code Bill was published when?
On April 11, 1947, the Hindu Code Bill was introduced in the Constituent Assembly.